Psychological Blow

"Cut off his head."

Riz leaves the tent after giving an order. A soldier follows him from behind. He is dragging Niel back to the underground floor. He walks leisurely to the mansion. Along the way, he greets the citizens he meets on the street.

Despite everything that has transpired, he isn't bothered by it in the slightest. He plans to write a letter to Nicholas I and send the head together with it.

Riz had a playful look and his face when he thought, 'I wonder what face will Nicholas I will make when he learns about the fate of his beloved son.'

He needs to utilise everything he has. Duke's absence will cause a power gap in the duchy. Infighting will soon happen in his family. He has many children but only two legitimate sons. One is still a small child and another one is his heir around his age.

"Milord, now that you have killed the duke, what will happen to the soldiers outside?" Charlotte asks.

"Eliminate all of them," Riz said before walking to the office. He needs to write a letter to Nicholas I. He left the matter in Charlotte's hand. By now, he didn't need to personally oversee it. The soldiers outside are leaderless.

Duke's head knight, Lino Elliott is a commoner. There's no way prideful royal knights will follow a command from a commoner. Niel's attendant are not well-versed in the military.

"As you wish, milord."

....

3rd June 300 Paign Era.

The west gate is open. Niel's attendant is the first one to show up at the gate. He can't sleep all night worrying about Niel. The same goes for Lino Elliot, Duke's head knight. Both of them are worried.

As the gates open, a figure can be seen by both of them. They completely lower their guard which is a very fatal mistake. A headless body is thrown at them. At first, they stood there blankly. The brain cannot process the whole situation. It's completely different from their expectations.

They stare at the headless body for a few minutes. The body wore familiar clothing they'd seen before. Lino's expression darkens as he is the first to realise its identity.

He looked up at Charlotte with a contorted face, "You-"

*Bang*

He was shot before finishing his word. His body swayed for a while before dropping to the ground. Lino is barely alive but the bleeding indicates he has not much time left.

Niel's attendant turned his back and tried to escape when the first shot was released. However, the lead ball is faster than his running speed.

Thus, he fell to the ground.

Several shots produce loud noises of course attracting attention from both parties.

"Alright everyone, come out and slaughter them." Charlotte starts giving orders. She ignores the ruckus made by the enemy. There's no need to care about soon-to-be-dead people.

The first to come out was the cavalry who had the task of keeping them within a certain perimeter. Cannons come out next followed by the pikeman and arquebusiers.

"Attack!!"

The cannon and arquebusiers begin shooting, the pikeman advancing and the cavalry starts charging. It didn't take long before the leaderless army with 16,000 strong men combined became less than 5,000 men.

Ryntum force shows no mercy. They hunt the remaining soldiers down but stop chasing them after a certain distance from the town.

"Tsk" One of the cavalry click his tongue. He is frustrated that the pitiful soldier he is hunting for a while has escaped.

"Hahaha, no need to be so angry. They are lucky to get away from us. Let's go back, we already won this war." said his friend.

Late afternoon, every force has returned to the town. They finish clearing their town area with little to no resistance.

....

9th June 300 Paign Era.

King's Office, Napuna.

Nicholas I is performing his duties as in previous days. He didn't manage to entirely focus on the documents in front of him in the past few weeks. There are no updates whatsoever from his two sons and the duke.

He assumes everything is going well and they are currently battling with the enemy. He believes that Ryntum's defence is probably on its last leg. His inner thought was interrupted when the butler came in and handed over a bunch of letters to him and a package.

As a king, it is normal for him to get many letters and gifts on a daily basis. Most of them are just plain useless. Many people want to flatter him with the intention to gain his favour or climb the social ladder.

He skims through the letter. His hand stops when seeing the sender's name.

"Rizieri Ryntum" Nicholas I muttered slowly. He opens the letter as he is curious about its content.

[Dear Nicholas I,

As written in the envelope, My name is Rizieri Ryntum, the young man that becomes the cause of this stupid war.

Since I don't like wasting my ink writing useless pleasantries, I'm going straight to the point.

Your beloved son and heir to the throne, Niel Napuna Bagyarosia is in my custody. His army was crushed to pieces.

Here is my demand if you wish for your son to return safely to you:

i) Hand over the Baroks Duchy entirely to my family. Acknowledge Ryntum's possession of the duchy with a written letter. It must have a royal seal on it.

ii) Disband the Noble Coalition and cease any hostile action; militarily and commercially toward the Ryntum Family.

iii) Immediately end the war. No reparation money should be paid by both side for whatever reason.

If you are worried about the Duke's opposition, then you shouldn't. The package I sent will help you understand the circumstance.

You have a month starting from the day you receive this letter to give me your response.

If I don't receive it by then, I shall give your beloved son to his violent elder brother. I heard the first prince displeased by his little brother.

I hope you make a wise decision.

Sincerely, the most wanted man.

Rizieri Ryntum]

Nicholas I tighten his grip on the letter. He is trying his best to control his anger. The young man didn't have a bit of respect for him and what was more dangerous is his own heir is in the enemy's hand.

From his tone in this letter, Nicholas I know that Riz doesn't care about Niel's well-being at all.

As much as his anger, so does his surprise. 'The army was defeated? How is that even possible?'

He couldn't believe it.

'What does he mean by package?' Nicholas looks at the corner of the office. The butler places all gifts in that area.

Nicholas I move them one by one, trying to guess which one is it. His search didn't last long as he found a wooden chest with Ryntum's emblem on it.

He opens the chest and as he does so, an unpleasant smell penetrates the room. The content revealed gives him a heart attack. The duke's head is in there. He places his right hand on his chest and begins to stabilise his erratic breathing.

"Is Ryntum member a bunch of maniacs?"

This is not the first time he has gone through this experience. Richard once presented to him the Gyalcakes' heads.

Now he knows the meaning of his words.

"Call Wendall for me!" He shouts.

"I'm here, your majesty." Wendall arrives as quickly as possible. Nicholas I didn't say a word and show him the letter. After explaining to Wendall, Nicholas asks, "What's your thought?"

"Difficult to say. We need to confirm his claim about the defeat first. If it is true, I believe your majesty needs to choose between Baroks or the second prince." Wendall said. Knowing Nicholas I, he definitely chose to save Niel.

"Is there any way to save both? Giving them the duchy means they rule half of the kingdom's total land. That's something that cannot be allowed to happen."

"He has leverage on the second prince. He also knows the prince's values. I think we should find out the reason for their success first."

Nicholas I nod, "Let's send someone."